Al Fresco Dining at Rock Center Café

Summer Garden & Bar at Rock Center Café in New York City is open for the season, offering al fresco dining with a number of new culinary experiences. The event lineup ranges from a pop-up New York State brewery dinner series to Sunday jazz brunches and a "Nose-to-Tail" Pig & Whiskey dinner. Groups can soak up the sun in an iconic outdoor setting featuring the famous gilded Prometheus statue, picturesque topiaries, and boxwood hedges. Here are some of Summer Garden & Bar at Rock Center Café's culinary events:

Pop-Up Brewery Beer Dinner Series (June 2 and June 23). Featuring Summer Garden's favorite New York State breweries, this dinner series will offer special selections from Ommegang on June 2 and Sixpoint on June 23. Beer experts from each brewery will be on hand to share their wisdom, and Chef Antonio Prontelli will personally present beer-friendly dishes like pork sliders with melted Swiss cheese and kimchi, tuna and avocado roll with spicy watermelon juice, and BBQ-spiced sliced sirloin with melted Vidalia onions, crispy potatoes and watercress.

Sunday Jazz Brunch Series (May 31, June 7, June 14, and June 21). Summer Garden & Bar will enhance their popular outdoor Sunday brunch experience with live jazz from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Entertainment will be provided by WCC Jazz Ensemble, a trio which performs covers of both classic and contemporary artists including Cole Porter and Bruno Mars.

"Nose-to-Tail" Pig & Whiskey Dinner. On June 16, Summer Garden & Bar is partnering with New York State's award-winning Still the One Distillery, based in Port Chester, to offer a unique "nose-to-tail" dining experience that pairs small batch whiskeys with a four-course menu that takes advantage of every part of a pig raised in New York. Menu highlights include seared pork belly and crispy oysters with ramp purée and pickled asparagus, and porchetta with corn, tomato, purple potato hash and rhubarb-tomato-cherry water.

Thursdays LIVE at Summer Garden & Bar (June 11 and June 25). Live music will be featured from 6:00 to 10:00 PM by On The Move Events & Entertainment, founded by Darren Olarsch, who has produced shows and events for a variety of A-list celebrities and Fortune 500 Companies.